I had known Ashley all my life, but we hadn't become friends until the summer of 2008. She was dating my brother (actually my first cousin) and I was pretty much the third wheel. He had left that summer to go to basic training for the Marines and so we slept over at our friend Angel's house that night. We discovered that night how much we balanced each other out as far as personalities go. As different as we were, we connected so quickly. That night by the pool, I realized I had a found a friend for life. Since then, we have been to so many places and endured the best and worst of times together. Even while living in different places, we managed to stay close. Distance never affected our relationship because we always encouraged each other with scripture and continued to keep each other in prayer. The one thing that gets me about our friendship is that whenever I'm depressed or feeling out of it, she always manages to call right when I need her the most. It's never when I want her to, but it's always when I absolutely need her to.
One moment I'll always remember from that summer, her and I decided it was a cool idea to go lie down in the middle of the road to take pictures. We got bored waiting for a car to come pick us up so we just kept running on and off the road like crazy people and kept complaining about how Samoa had too many cars.
A best friend isn't someone who just laughs with you. They cry, fight, get mad, get happy, go crazy and are simply there so you can rest your head on their shoulder when you need to just relax. Someone had told me once, you know when you've found a best friend when you can be in the same room with that person and not say anything whatsoever and not have that awkward silence feeling, but be absolutely comfortable with just their presence.
God places people in our life that we can relate to so we don't feel alone in this world. That's why He created family, but sometimes we need to get away from the family drama and that's where friendship comes into play. My favorite Bible story on friendship is the story of David and Jonathan. The bond that they had even when they were separated from each other remained strong because they had God in the center of their friendship. Even though King Saul (Jonathan's father) wanted to kill David because of the calling God had on David's life, Jonathan's loyalty to his friendship with David remained strong. The bond they had was unbreakable because God was at the center of their friendship. In 1 Samuel 20, it tells the story of how Jonathan protected David and the covenant Jonathan had made with David concerning their friendship. This was the covenant Jonathan made to David.
Jonathan said, "As God, the God of Israel, is my witness, by this time tomorrow I'll get it out of my father how he feels about you. Then I'll let you know what I learn. May God do his worst to me if I let you down! If my father still intends to kill you, I'll tell you and get you out of here in one piece. And God be with you as he's been with my father! If I make it through this alive, continue to be my covenant friend. And if I die, keep the covenant friendship with my family-forever. And when God finally rids the earth of David's enemies, stay loyal to Jonathan!" Jonathan repeated his pledge of love and friendship for David. He loved David more than his own soul! (1 Samuel 20:12-17 MSG)When God is at the center of any relationship, the bond is unbreakable because its not just between you and that person. It's between you, that person and God. Ecclesiastes 4:12 clearly says on our own we're not safe, but with a friend we can face the worst and with a third you are like a rope woven with three strings that is difficult to break.
Ashley, I pledge the same covenant friendship Jonathan had with David will continue to be the type of friendship we hold onto as time goes on and that our families will have the same covenant bond to unify them as God has unified us as best friends. I pray for blessings, happiness and prosperity in your life. Enjoy your birthday in Hilo, Hawaii and I promise we'll celebrate when you come home to Am. Samoa. YAHSII ! =)
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